Why It's Still Stuffy On Your Plane

At last, vindication for everyone who's ever traced a nagging headache
or nasty cold back to a long airplane trip: Last week, the National
Research Council presented a 246-page report to Congress detailing
exactly how much we don't know about the air we breathe when we take to
the skies  just in time for the holiday travel season.

After collecting and analyzing air quality data for a year, the NRC
(part of the National Academy of Sciences) pointed an accusatory finger
at Capitol Hill, concluding the feds do too little to monitor and
enforce indoor air standards. The FAA, which is ostensibly in charge of
maintaining healthy air systems within planes, sets guidelines most
pilots and flight attendants find too lenient, and which are rarely
checked, according to the report. While poor air circulation could
contribute to inadvertent germ-sharing among passengers, there are other
pollutants that concern scientists more. Potential dangers include high
levels of headache-inducing carbon monoxide, dangerously reduced cabin
pressure, ozone pollution and the presence of pesticides.

How can you tell if the plane you're boarding has healthy air in
circulation? You can't. Current systems for analyzing air quality are
"woefully inadequate," according to NRC investigators. That, of course,
is bad news for travelers, especially as we head into one of the busiest
times at airports around the country. While the report's findings
shouldn't scare anyone off their upcoming travel plans, passengers with
a history of cardiac or respiratory diseases or traveling with infants
may want to run their itinerary past a doctor, just to be safe.

Meanwhile, a beleaguered FAA has pledged to take "a long, hard look" at
the NRC report. While the agency won't promise any immediate changes
 the mere possibility of problems isn't enough to prompt action they say they may instate more rules  or commission yet another
report.